TENNIS

TENNIS; Capriati Hits Wall Named Williams

By CHARLIE NOBLES

Published: March 30, 2003

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla., March 29—
After Jennifer Capriati hit a backhand wide, mercifully completing the match on a blistering afternoon, Serena Williams walked to the net and shook hands with her. Then Williams gave her a sympathetic pat on the back as they walked off the court.

This 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory for the Nasdaq-100 Open championship was another in a long series of joyous occasions for Williams. The world's top-ranked player since last summer, she is 17-0 this year and 3 for 3 in championships.

For Capriati, it was a wrenching way to spend her 27th birthday. Favored by many in the Stadium Court crowd at the Crandon Park Tennis Center, she languished in the heat in the third set. Losing here in the final has become commonplace. She lost to Serena Williams last year and to Venus Williams in 2001.

''Honestly,'' Serena Williams said, ''if she was playing anyone else, I would have liked to see her win.''

As it is, the Williams mystique continues, even if Williams does seem to be tempting fate. She says she does not practice much these days, that she has not been to a gym in nearly a month and that she recently included candy in her diet.

''I can't keep doing it like that,'' she said. ''There's people out there who are working hard and coming closer. So there's definitely some things I can do to make my day a little easier.''

Williams, who promised to be sharper for her next tournament, which starts April 7 in Charleston, S.C., acknowledged that she took too much for granted today.

''I think I was just being lazy and expecting the win to come without moving my feet,'' she said of her play in the first two sets.

That cannot be encouraging for Capriati to hear; she has lost seven straight matches, including a number of close ones, to Williams.

''Tennis-wise, I definitely can hang with her shot for shot,'' said Capriati, who was seeded sixth. ''It's just a matter of getting in a little better shape and peaking. I definitely think I'm on the way up.''

Williams appeared vulnerable today until she was threatened with losing. She raised concerns about her play with a whopping 42 unforced errors to Capriati's 21, but she earned praise with 33 winners, 20 more than Capriati. Williams was also successful on 73 percent of her first serves.

''She goes for it,'' Capriati said. ''She's going to make a lot of errors, but she's going to have a lot of winners, too.''

Capriati took the first set largely on the strength of two service breaks and a strategy of forcing Williams to generate her own power. Behind by 2-0, Capriati won the next four games as Williams became conspicuously error-prone.

Capriati stroked two forehand winners to put Williams behind during her first service break, then Williams helped with two errant forehands, the last a drop-shot attempt that went into the net.

Capriati then held service at love, as Williams made four unforced forehand errors. Capriati began keeping the ball in play and waiting for Williams to make mistakes.

Williams obliged again on her service. She contributed to her failure with three more unforced errors, the final two on forehands that sailed into the net.

This was the third straight time Capriati had won a first set against Williams. But as in the other times, Williams roared back, winning the second set's first four games.

After Williams took the set, on two Capriati errors, the two were allowed a 10-minute heat break. When they resumed, Capriati said she felt heavy-legged, while Williams was ready for her best tennis. ''I was just starting,'' she said.

In the decisive set, Williams showed why she is considered by many to be at another level. At one point in fashioning a 3-0 advantage, she won 9 straight points and 12 of 13. That streak started with a controversial line call that went against Capriati.

A fan yelled, ''Get mad, Jennifer!'' but it was too late. She won the next game, but it was her only solace for the rest of the match.

In men's play today, second-seeded Andre Agassi eased into Sunday's final by routing ninth-seeded Albert Costa, 6-2, 6-4. Agassi, questionable with arm soreness until several days before the tournament, will try to win his third straight title here. He will face fifth-seeded Carlos Moya.

''I didn't feel tremendously ready, to say the least,'' Agassi said. ''I hadn't hit balls in a number of weeks, hadn't done anything with my shoulder for a number of weeks. So I've considered every match a bonus for me.''

Photo: Serena Williams lost the first set but roared back to win the title. (Reuters)